2016 Tacoma 4 cylinder buyers remorse?

That is why I bought the 2.7

 

the 4 banger responds very poorly to additional unsprung weight, adding heavy tires larger diameter tires,tonneau and camper shells add to 100+ pounds more weight to push. I have a 2.7l truck and have a love hate relationship with its lack of power, but I can get 23 mpgs and its a reliable power plant,easy to work on, mines completely stock auto trans. I wont be putting on bigger AT or anything that adds weight to the truck cause the performance will plummet worse than it already is.

 

4 speed AUTO in mine and hunts gears. I really don't understand why every one complains about AUTO hunting gears? the reason is that it mechanically shifts the gears for you hence AUTOMATIC trans, whereas if you have a manual YOU decide when the proper time it is to shift or downshift. now that theres 6 speed transmission this elevates the shifting with the addition of 2 extra gears so the response will be the truck will be shifting and using more of them to keep optimum performance

 

none

 

it will get worse mileage in trucks where they added additional weight and larger heavier tires, other than that you should get at least 21mpgs minimum and regularly 22-23mpgs in stock form(4x4). 5 luggers will get 25mpgs +

 

I put mine in S5 so it don't shift into 6th gear. Running 60mph turning 2000rpm on the highway. Now when I come into town I drop her down to S4 to tool around town.

 

yup I noticed OP has a cap and this is a performance killer on a 2.7l cause of weight,wind resistance, even a fiberglass tonneau adds 100 pounds weight. weight is a killer on the 2.7l engine

 

on my 4 speed auto, I manually shift down to 3rd when the engine starts lugging on hilly/inclines, it is what it is, if I could afford the power of a v8 I would own one, but I don't have those kind of funds for an vehicle I need my money for a roof over my head,food,bills to pay I cant blow my profits out the tailpipe of a v8 unless I live in it

 

I live in the complete opposite type of area than california highways... So I can't really compare but I love my truck it doesn't get bad fuel economy in the woods or when I am going to work and back, i have bigger sized 10 ply e rated mud terrains on it, I find myself going 10-15 over the highway speed limit without noticing because the truck is so quiet. Also, I can pass people on the highways just fine, and go up graded hills no problem.

California sucks and it's over populated. No vehicle is suitable for that shithole.

 

So, how long did you live in CA?

 

14k miles here and consistent 18.5 w/the 3.5.

 

0 minutes I live in Washington, a town with about 3,000 people and one stop light and woods everywhere surrounding it. I wouldn't fit in, in California I am not used to it.

I envision a fast street bike being the best source for power, mpg, and transportation for down there.... Enough power to go cruise 120mph down the highways or however fast yall go on average, and you can legally split lanes up the middle if I recall so you wont be sitting in traffic every 20 seconds. And youll get 60-70mpg

 

Oh, okay.. so you don't have a clue what you're talking about then.

I live 45 minutes north of San Francisco and don't have any traffic issues.

My city is just slightly larger population wise than Spokane, and the town I grew up in is less than 40k population.

It takes 10 minutes to cross town using back roads, or 2 on the freeway.

LA and SF are two cities in California. Whole lot of small towns in between, and LA sand SF

 

At one time I had a 6cyl Tacoma. Sold it and it's been 4cyl ever since. No ragrets... zero issues (manual trans) and no complaints about power

 

If you are mad I said Cali sucks, I'm sorry man, wasn't trying to piss anyone off? You are correct. North Cali and South Cali are different worlds. My sister lived in downtown L.A for 4 years before she couldn't handle it anymore. She would get so mad at the amount of people and traffic. Waiting in long lines at literally everything you did... She took her boyfriend from down there and brought him up here, now he lives on a legit farm and is turning into a redneck and loves it, it's funny.

 

Yeah 13k price difference, I'd supercharge the 2.7L and have 300rwhp and still be more reliable than the 3.5, and still be 7k cheaper. #winning

 

I lived in SoCal before moving to Georgia in 1997 to be with my dad who was very ill . Bought a '98 Taco 4x4 2.7L 3RZ-FE manual new while I was there. It was a base model with air, chrome package, stereo, and not much else. It was my DD/work truck. No rocket ship, but light years better than the Chevy Silverado I had before. The only things I added to it were aftermarket rims and tires and frame mounted side nerfs. After my dad passed, I returned to SoCal in 2000. My brother had a fully loaded 1999 Tacoma 4x4 3.4 manual. Compared to my 4 cyl, his truck was a slug. I'm sure it was the Cal emissions that slowed it down, as mine was a lot more fun to drive (and faster) than his. BTW ... it passed Calif emission testing on the first try with over 100k miles on it.
I had no idea just how much US emissions equipment affects performance until we moved here and I bought my Hilux. The only emission stuff that came on my truck is the cat, and PCV valve. No EGR, vapor recovery, or anything else. The ECM programming must be pretty basic because the only sensors on the wiring diagram are for O2. The performance of the Hilux 2.4L is at least as good as or maybe a little better than my '98 2.7L. New models in Colombia have more complicated emissions gear, but still nothing like all the crap they hang on the engines up there. I wish that they offered the 3.4L gasoline motor for sale here. Only gas engine is the 2.7L 4-banger. D4D diesel is the only optional motor offered.

- JAMES

my '98 the day I bought it

 

That's comparing a 5-lug to a V6 though. The numbers are much closer when you compare an access cab 4x4 with the 4cyl to an access cab 4x4 with the V6. If you just need a utility truck, the 5 lug is fine, but for people that want to off-road and daily drive, the biggest saving grace on the 4cyl is the buy price. I'm talking 2nd gen though. The 4.0 has proven itself to be a reliable engine with many people over 200k, and quite a few in the 300k+ miles. With a 3rd gen, time will tell if the 3.5 is up to the challenge, no doubt the 2.7 is.

The difference in price in the used market was just too little though when I was looking to upgrade. Took me two months to find a "base" 4cyl 5-spd access cab with 4x4 locally. Once I found it, I emailed the salesman about price and he shot me back a really good "come buy it price". I went in and they started playing games, saying they couldn't do it, yada yada. I wasn't in love with the truck, so I told them I was over it and left. Went home, expanded my search online to include V6, found the white I was looking for at a cheaper price than the previous dealer's "come buy it price" and the rest is history. I love the upgraded power. Although, I will say there is something magical about chugging along in a 2.7 matched with a 5-spd. That feeling was lost with the upgrade.

 

Looks good!

 

Thanks @1bad2k Sam!